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City Tech Students Among ‘Scholars at Work’ Graduates

More than 100 seniors from New York City College of Technology (City Tech) and 13 city high schools were congratulated by Robert W. Walsh, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS), for successfully completing the Scholars at Work program.

A partnership between the NYC Department of Education, SBS and The City University of New York, Scholars at Work helps graduating students from select city career and technical education high schools and City Tech find careers after graduation in the high-demand transportation and manufacturing sectors. This is the first year the program was expanded to include college students through the City Tech partnership. In total, the program placed over 100 students from City Tech and participating high schools into internships. Graduation was held at Steiner Studios, located at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

“The Scholars at Work program,” said Walsh, “helps strengthen the City’s workforce and provides graduating students with valuable work experience and job skills that enable them to achieve gainful employment and discover future employment opportunities.”

“City Tech's technology programs are constructed to blend theory and hands-on experience. We teach students to be ‘scholars at work,’” says Bonne August, provost and vice president for academic affairs at City Tech. “This NYC SBS program is a perfect fit and a great opportunity for our students looking to pursue careers in advanced manufacturing and transportation.”

“It is our goal that every New York City student graduates high school ready for success in college and a career,” said Department of Education Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott. “Scholars at Work connects students from high-quality transportation and manufacturing CTE programs with leading employers in the field, which provides an invaluable work experience and a much deeper understanding of what it takes to advance their personal career path.”

As part of the program, students completed a 14-week paid internship during the spring 2013 academic semester with over 40 New York City employers in the transportation and manufacturing industries. Manufacturing interns gained vital paid work experience with businesses focusing on architecture, plumbing, welding, carpentry, electrical, wholesale distribution, wholesale trade and more. Transportation interns were placed with employers engaged in high-level automotive, aviation, electrical, engineering, ground transit and maritime work. Participating employers included 15 businesses from the Brooklyn Navy Yard that hired interns for positions in production, fabrication, inventory management, design and various tech-related roles.